The Lair

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Lily

Things didn’t just get messy, they went to hell and back. McKenna didn’t want to stay in the bedroom just yet, she wanted to move. They paced up and down the length of the hall. Her water broke, drenching the carpet with pinkish liquid that made Lily’s stomach flip over. At that point, Lily found McKenna an old nightgown from one of the closets and changed her into it. She seemed so weak, Lily didn’t know how she kept moving, but she did.

Ely avoided the entire upstairs as much as he could. He found food in the pantry. He brought them a box of old Saltines and a half-eaten jar of peanut butter. Even better, he brought candles, which they could light as night fell.

He must have gotten the fireplace working, because the scent of burning wood filled the house, and then maybe a half hour after that, he brought up a bundle of items wrapped in a kitchen towel. Lily propped McKenna against the bedpost and unrolled the bundle. The items were still hot from being boiled. He’d included a pair of sharp-looking scissors, a butcher knife, a pair of kitchen tongs, and a binder clip.

Lily frowned and nudged the air above the clip, being careful not to touch it, just in case. “What’s that for?”

“You said you needed to clamp the cord.”

“With a binder clip?”

“You got any other ideas?”

“Nope.”

She was fresh out. Of ideas. Of reserves. Of strength. She was just out. So she wrapped up the stuff and placed it on top of the dresser. Then, she went back to helping McKenna pace.

Ely must have found plywood, because the hammering shook the whole house. Dusk was starting to fall and the sick feeling in Lily’s stomach cranked up with every passing contraction. Every time McKenna’s groans ceased, Lily listened for the sounds of Ticks outside the house. They never came. Not yet anyway.

She didn’t know how much time passed. It felt like days. Finally, McKenna sat weakly on the edge of bed and gasped out, “I think it’s time to push.”

The words were barely out of her mouth when ripple after ripple coursed over her belly and a moan tore through her chest.

“How do you know?” In the movies, the doctor always told the mother when it was time. But there was no doctor here and Lily was suddenly, painfully aware of her own ineptitude. She couldn’t do this. There was no way she could do this. But it didn’t matter, because McKenna was pushing. Without Lily’s encouragement or her help.

Lily lunged for her, grabbing her arms as she started to slide off the bed. She trembled under McKenna’s weight as pain rocketed through her shoulder. She called out for Ely, her cries mingling with McKenna’s. A second later, she stopped pushing, her weight sagging.

“Ely! Get in here!” She could hear him moving on the other side of the door as seconds ticked past. “Now!”

“What?” he asked, hovering by the door.

“Help me!”

She was barely standing, keeping McKenna wedged between the bed and her body. She didn’t have the strength to hold her up and she could feel her legs slipping out from under her on the soggy carpet.

“Jesus, Lily. Get her up on the bed.”

“What do you think I’m trying to do?”

“No. Want to—” McKenna gasped. “Stand.”

“Help me get her up!” Lily ordered.

He held up his hands, palm out. “Hey, never argue with a pregnant woman.”

“Then hold her!”

He swallowed visibly. Then took a step closer. He didn’t seem to know where to put his hands; finally, with trembling muscles, Lily just thrust McKenna at him. McKenna sagged into Ely as she started pushing again.

He wedged himself behind her, braced against the bed, supporting her weight. Thank God Ely was stronger than Lily was. For once, that smart-ass smirk was wiped off his face. Then his gaze darted up to Lily’s. “Hey, if I’m holding her, you’ve got to get down there to catch the baby.”

“What?”

“She’s pushing, man. That means the baby is going to come out. You need to be there to catch it.”

Ah, shit.

“Can’t you get her up on the bed?” Lily asked. That was how it was always done in the movies. On a bed. In a hospital. Where things made sense.

“No, man. I wasn’t joking. You never argue with a pregnant lady. That’s what my abuela always said anyway. And she was a nurse. She said you let a woman do whatever she wants because it’s her body and she knows.”

“Oh, great. If your abuela has such great advice, why didn’t you trot it out until now?”

Ely didn’t answer because McKenna was pushing again. Anyway, she knew the answer. He hadn’t trotted out the advice because he didn’t want to be here. Not any more than Lily wanted to be here. None of them wanted this.

She stepped back, pushing her hair out of her face while she considered her options. She dug a ponytail holder out of her pocket and yanked her hair back into it. He was right. This was so not what she’d signed up for, but this wasn’t McKenna’s choice, either. None of this was, and Lily didn’t have time to be squeamish anymore.

McKenna’s feet were bare and widespread. Ely’s feet bracketed hers, keeping them from sliding farther apart. Lily knelt by her feet and tried not to freak out. How had anyone else ever done this?

How was this the beginning of life? This act, which seemed so violent. So primal. How was this how it all began, for everyone? And for most of human history, it had happened just like this. In homes and bedrooms, without electricity. Without doctors. Without medicine or help if something went wrong.

She was not the first scared, eighteen-year-old girl to kneel helpless nearby while her friend labored to bring a life into the world. Logic dictated she wouldn’t be the last. And something beyond logic, too.

As wrong and as horrific and as horrible as this all seemed, it also somehow felt right. Like this was how it was supposed to be. Women helping other women to do the impossible. To do this difficult and dangerous thing.

Then, suddenly, McKenna gave one more big push and the baby’s head slipped through. And a moment after that, the rest of the baby’s body wiggled free. Lily caught her in a towel. Her head was huge compared to the rest of her. She was covered in slime and looked unnaturally pale and wrinkled, but she let out a cry almost immediately, stretching and kicking her legs.

Ely’s strength must have given out, because he sank to the ground, bringing McKenna with him. Holding the baby, Lily scrambled back out of the way of sprawling arms and legs. McKenna barely had the strength to keep her eyes open. Her head lolled back against Ely’s shoulder. She was shaking and pale. Ely just stared at the baby in Lily’s hands. His expression a mixture of horror and awe.

She felt all that, too. Plus a great helping of relief. Whatever else happened from here, the baby was alive. Lily might not know jack about birthing babies, but at least she recognized alive when she saw it. Somehow, in this crazy, messed-up world, in this world where nothing made sense anymore and where no one was safe, somehow, McKenna’s baby had made it. She was alive. She was healthy. For now, in this moment, she was safe.

With as much wrong as there was in the world, good things could still happen.

She could regret almost everything that had happened since the Before. But she couldn’t regret this.